The first nationwide Sanofi Hope Volunteer Day was launched in 12 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou of Guangdong province, on Oct 27.

The Volunteer Day, with the theme of Empowering Children, focused on the special needs of children with major health problems.

The event aimed to bring them joy and hope through various activities, the company said.

Hundreds of Sanofi volunteers, together with professional non-governmental organization partners, visited communities, hospitals and rehabilitation institutions and provided volunteer services.

In Shanghai, they spent an afternoon visiting children with neoplastic hematologic disorders.

In the wards at the Shanghai Children's Medical Center decorated in Halloween style, the children learned about plants and played games accompanied by the volunteers, nurses and parents.

In other cities, Sanofi volunteers provided practical support for sick children through ward visits, baking, art lessons and games, covering multiple groups of children who have diseases including epilepsy, leukemia, cancer and autism.

"It's a new attempt to meet the social needs with our expertise in health and a demonstration of our mission In China For China," said Jean-Christophe Pointeau, country chair of Sanofi China, also an active advocate of the nationwide campaign.

"We hope that this project will empower children in need, and motivate more people to join in and act together, promoting sustainable development for the future of healthy China."

Sanofi has been involved in various public welfare activities in the past 35 years, dating back to its entry into China.

Its goal is to back the community through humanitarian aid, volunteer activities, and support cultural and sports projects.

Sanofi Hope Volunteer Group, which was established in 2012, now has nine volunteer teams in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and other cities, with more than 600 regular members. As employees of the company, many Sanofi volunteers are equipped with knowledge about health.

In addition to devoting time and energy to these events, they can also use their expertise to ease the suffering of these children.

Over the years, with the support from professional NGO partners, more than 7,000 Sanofi volunteers have participated in about 300 volunteering activities to serve 40,000 children and other groups in need.

xuxiaomin@chinadaily.com.cn